Merlin Fun Facts
by Maltese-Sapphire
Summary: A collection of interesting facts and trivia I have found and thought I would share with you. Includes facts and errors from all Series 1 episodes. SERIES 2 HAS BEEN ADDED, SEE INSIDE FOR INFO ON SERIES 3 UPDATE.
1. Chapter 1

**Merlin Fun Facts**

**A series of useless but rather interesting facts on the TV show.**

**Hellooooooo! **

**Whilst Maltesegirl50 (my co-writer for The Prince and the Puppy) is busy writing the next chapter of our story, I thought I'd share with you all some fun facts I've discovoured on various websites. Why do I know these facts? Because I deliberately go looking for trivia when I have nothing else to do. Hey, it's better than being bored all day. =P**

**Enjoy!**

**Series 1**

**The Dragon's Call**

**1. **The rabbit mask in Gaius's chambers eventually had to be moved to a top shelf because it scared most of the cast.

**2. **Uther wears two different crowns during this episode.

**3.** When Merlin is in the stocks, tomatos are thrown at him. However, tomatos were not known in Europe until 1498 when Columbus brought them over from America.

**4. **Uther and Lady Helen can be seen eating strawberries, which were not introduced to Europe until the 17th century.

**5. **The castle used as Camelot was rebuilt in a period too modern for the time period in which the Arthurian legend it set. However, it was the best castle they could find to use as Camelot, so it was decided that they would use it anyway. Also, the glass in the castle was too modern for the time period.

**Valiant**

**1. **The helmet Merlin takes from the armoury is clearly not Arthur's.

**2. **During this episode, Gaius can be seen wearing glasses, which were not commonly used until the 13th century.

**3. **Gaius discribes one of the snake bite symptoms to be a slower pulse. However, real snake bites cause a faster pulse.

**The Poisoned Chalice**

**1.** Although he does not actually appear in the episode, John Hurt is still credited.

**2. **This episode was first aired on Bradley's birthday (11th October).

**3. **A mop seen in Gaius's chambers was not invented until the 19th century.

**Lancelot**

**1.** Colin's microphone is clearly visibly attached to his lower back when he jumps over the fallen tree trunk while escaping from the Griffin.

**2. **Two crew members and a camera can be seen in the background as Merlin and Lancelot walk along a corridoor after meeting Gwen.

**3. **Geoffrey of Monmouth, the Court Genealogist is based on the man thought to have created the begining of the Arthurian Legend.

**4. **This is writer Julian Jones' favourite episode of Series 1.

**The Gates of Avalon**

**1. **The inscription on Aulfric's staff reads "To hold life and death in your hands"

**2. **For health and safety reasons, Bradley and Colin weren't allowed to put their heads under water during the lake scenes. Stund doubles were used for those shots.

**3. **Prosthetics for the Sidhe were created by Harry Potter make up artist Mark Caulier.

**The Begining of the End**

**1. **A stunt double sometimes had to be used for Mordred, as Asa Butterfield couldn't always work long enough to complete filming under Child Labour Laws.

**2.** This is Katie McGrath's favourite episode of Series 1.

**3. **In this episode, Mordred only physicly speaks one line (revealing his name at the end). All other lines are telepathic.

**The Moment of Truth**

**1. **This is the first episode where Arthur and Gwen have a scene alone togeather, and the one time in the series.

**2. **One of the horses featured in the episode won the title "Stunt Horse of the Year"

**3. **During this episode, both Morgana and Gwen weat trousers, which would have been considered highly unacceptable during this time period.

**4. **At no point during the fights can any trace of blood be seen. This is possibly because it was thought it would be unsuitable for the time slot in which the show would be aired, and for the younger audience.

**4.** During the scene where Arthur asks Merlin why he left Ealdor, the shot where Arthur puts his foot in Merlin's face was improvised by Bradley James. Colin Morgan later asked for this shot to be removed, but the director liked it so much they kept it in.

**Excalibur**

**1.** The marks on the sword read "Take me up" on one side, and "Cast me away" on the other.

**2. **At no point during the episode is the sword reffered to as Excalibur, dispite the episode name.

**The Labyrinth of Gedref**

**1. **Since Colin is a vegetarian, the "rat stew" consisted of cold mushroom soup and quorn (I have no idea what quorn is XD).

**2. **This is Bradley and Colin's favourite episode of Series 1.

**3. **As the unicorn falls to the ground, no arrow can be seen piercing it.

**To Kill The King**

**1.** Gwen is never seen wearing the dress her father bought for her.

**2. **During Morgana and Uther's conversation by Gorlois' grave, Uther's chain mail and cloak, which are supposed to be rather heavy, wave in the wind.

**Le Morte d'Arthur**

**1.** Gaius was origionally intented to die in this episode.

**2. **This is Richard Wilson's favourite episode of Series 1.

**3. **The rabbit's foot Gaius gives to Merlin is in fact a rabbit's tail.

**4. **Uther tells Arthur to summon the knights and then says "We ride at dawn". But he himself doesn't accompany them.

**5. **Merlin leaves Camelot riding a horse that isn't the same one he is riding when he approaches the Isle of the Blessed.

**Aaaand, that's Series 1 done!**

**Well, what do y'all think? Let me know if you want me to write up a chapter for Series 2!**

**xxxxx**


	2. Chapter 2

**Merlin Fun Facts**

**A series of useless but rather interesting facts on the TV show.**

**And I'm back with a second chapter!**

**Thanks so much for the reviews, guys. And thanks for the facts that you mentioned yourself; I shall be adding them all to the previous chapter. I'll admit, I did know a couple of them, but I thought they were so well known that they wouldn't interest you (see? Always thinking of you guys :P).**

**Anyways, here are all the Series 2 facts and errors I could find. **

**Enjoy!**

**Series 2**

**The Curse of Cornelius Sigan**

1. Most of Cedric/Sigan's hair isn't actually Mackenzie Crook's.

2. Since Mackenzie had trouble remembering his Old English spell, it was shot in little bits and put together in the edit.

3. The final scene was filmed during the day, and night colours were added in post production. Mackenzie can be seen squinting several times because the sun was in his face.

4. Bradley had trouble remembering his lines for the breakfast scene because he was too busy eating.

5. As Cedric becomes Sigan, his look is designed to imitate a raven, since that is the animal on Sigan's crest.

**The Once an Future Queen**

1. The sand used during the jousting had to be constantly wetted to make it safe for the horses to gallop on.

2. The blue cloak Arthur wears in this episode is the same one worn by Edwin in _A Remedy to Cure All Ills._

3. The green dress worn by an extra sitting near Uther in the tournament is the same dress worn by Lady Vivian in _Sweet Dreams_.

**The Nightmare Begins**

1. This is the first episode in which we see physical proof of Morgana's magic.

2. When Merlin hides the flowers behind his back, they are pink, white and purple. However, when he gives them to Gwen they are only pink and white.

3. The filming of Mordred's scenes were delayed slightly until Asa Butterfield turned 12 so he could film for an extra hour a day (because of Child Labour Laws in France, where they filmed his scenes).

4. The gaurds used Doberman Pinschers to follow Morgana's trace, a breed which was first bred in Germany around 1890.

**Lancelot and Guinevere**

1. The piece of jaw bone worn around Hengist's neck was found by Bradley James during filming for _The Mark of Nimueh._It was also worn by Kanan in _The Moment of Truth._

2. Lancelot tells Gwen "Live for me", the same line that Gwen says to Arthur during_ Sweet Dreams_.

3. Arthur only carries one sword when he jumps into the fighting ring, but once inside, he then throws one to Lancelot.

4. There is no trace of the cut that Morgana gave Hengist with a sword in the forest.

5. Bradley's stunt double was used for the shot when Arthur jumps into the fighting ring.

**Beauty and the Beast Part 1**

1. The gold necklace that Catrina wears during her wedding is the same one that Morgana wore during the feast at the end of _Valiant_.

2. Though she is seen on screen, Gwen does not have any lines in this episode.

3. Sarah Parish is Johnny Capps' favourite guest star of Series 2.

4. The Great Dragon does not appear in this episode, but John Hurt is credited.

5. One of the origonal names considered for this episode was _Uther and the Troll_.

**Beauty and the Beast Part 2 **

1. The BBC Press Release for this episode listed Bradley James as Bradley Jones.

2. The horse dung that the troll eats was made of chocolate and banana.

3. In this episode, Colin Morgan's brother Neil featured as one of the peasants in the background during the scene where guards collect taxes from an old man.

4. This was the first Merlin episode to be shown in two parts, and the only one until _The Tears of Uther Pendragon _(coincidental, they both feature Uther as part of the main plot).

5. _Beauty and the Beast Part 1 _and _Part 2_ were written by different writers.

6. Sarah Parish found it hard to act in the full prosthetics and fat suit as the episode was filmed during a heatwave, making the costume uncomfortable to wear.

**The Witchfinder**

the scenes in which Aredian writes with a quill, there is no trace of ink whatsoever, including when he dips in in an inkwell and taps it to remove excess ink.

2. The belladonna petal looks nothing like the ones Aredian keeps in his rooms, or the ones illustrated in the book Merlin finds them in.

3. This episode is Colin Morgan's favourite in Series 2.

4. Charles Dance (Aredian) bought a ring with a claw on it in Camden Market because he thought it suited the part of the Witchfinder.

5. Johnny Capps based the Witchfinder loosely on the character of the Child catcher in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

6. Charles Dance was proud of the fact that cast members felt genuinely intimidated by him.

7. This is the first episode in Series 2 in which Arthur calls Guinevere Gwen.

**The Sins of the Father**

1. During the Throne Room scene, Morgause's boots are black in the close-ups but beige in the long shots.

2. Footage from _The Mark of Nimueh_was used for the shot of Merlin running up the stairs to stop Arthur from killing Uther.

3. For some of the still shots before her fight against Arthur, Emilia Fox (Morgause) had to stand on some books.

4. For the scene in which the rope goes up Merlin's body, Colin Morgan was poked in the ribs so he would make the right faces.

5. Whilst filming the scene at Morgause's chapel, Bradley James tripped over and almost fell on Emilia Fox.

6. The first and last scenes of Morgause and her crystals were not in the origonal script.

7. This is the second episode in which Colin Morgan's brother Neil features as an extra.

**The Lady of the Lake**

1. Markers were attached to Laura Donnelly's (Freya) body so they could match her physical movement to that of the beast she transforms into. Simularly, they do the same with John Hurt for the Dragon's movements.

2. This is the third episode in which Colin Morgan's brother Neil features as an extra.

3. The post production and editing for this episode was only finished on the day it aired.

4. Angel Coulby (Gwen) wasn't features in the Press Release for this episode, but she does appear in it.

5. This is the second episode in which Camelot's tavern, _The Rising Sun_ is featured. It first appeared in _The Curse of Cornelius Sigan_.

6. During the scene in which Merlin casts Freya's body out onto the lake, Colin Morgan was staring emotionally at a rock.

**Sweet Dreams**

1. Arthur's shield is more chipped at the beginning of the mace fight than it is at the end.

2. At the begining of the episode when the camera view is on the castle, there is a trail of an aeroplane in the sky.

3. An hourglass is used to time different stages of the fight between Arthur and Olaf. However, the earliest known record of an hourglass in Europe is in the late 13th century.

4. Bradley James is not keen on wearing his crown because it gives him a headache.

5. David Tennant directed the scene in which Arthur hits Merlin for mistaking his love for Gwen instead of Lady Vivian.

6. Bradley James intended to prank Colin Morgan during a scene by slamming a door in his face, but unfortunately, the director yelled cut before he got the chance.

**The Witch's Quickening**

1. Although a stunt woman was used for certain scenes, Katie McGrath galloped on a horse for the first time during this episode.

2. The scene where Merlin follows Morgana was filmed the day after Colin Morgan fell and hurt his back, so they were concerned about him having to jump from the gallery into the castle's courtyard.

3. It was on the first day of filming that they shot the jail scene between Morgana and Alvarr, and on the last day of filming which they shot the quarrel between Uther and Morgana.

4. Asa Butterfield is Katie McGrath's favourite guest star.

**The Fires of Idirsholas**

1. When the dragon flies free, there is no trace of the severed chain that should still be attached to his leg.

2. A raven was supposed to deliver the message from Morgause to Morgana, but because of costs and timing, this had to be scrapped.

3. When Arthur examined the cut on Merlin's arm, some blood can be seen, but none on Merlin's shirt.

4. This is Katie McGrath's favourite episode in Series 2.

5. The scene where Morgana meets Morgause in the forest was filmed during the day with special filters to make it look like night.

6. It was Katie McGrath's idea to wear black eyeliner to make her look more like Morgause.

7. During the scene in which Merlin, Arthur and Morgana drag Uther, Colin Morgan fell and bruised of coccyx, Katie McGrath tripped over her skirts several times and hurt her shoulder, and Bradley James injured his back from pulling too hard.

8. This is the 12th episode of the series, and was aired on the 12th day of the 12th month.

9. iTunes UK made the episode available to watch online several hours before it aired on BBC1.

**The Last Dragonlord**

1. When he rides out to fight the dragon with Arthur and the knights, Merlin is not provided with any kind of armour. Unlike in _The Moment of Truth_, where he wears chainmail.

2. This episode is Johnny Capps' favourite episode in Series 2.

3. The Series 2 wrap party was held on 11th October, which was also Bradley James' 26th birthday.

4. The battle against the dragon was filmed in a large football pitch near Pierrefonds castle.

5. The US channel Syfy cut the scene where Merlin tells Arthur he is going to fight the dragon with him because it overlapped broadcasting schedules.

6. The scene in which Balinor dies was the scene Colin Morgan found hardest to film.

7. Gwen's house was redressed as the tavern.

8. The spell Merlin uses to tame the dragon translates as: "I command you to stop this reign of terror. You have caused enough pain and suffering to these people. You must obey me and follow my will. For I have you under my power. You shall no longer bring death and destruction to this land"

**Aaaaand, that's Series 2 done! If anyone knows anymore facts, let me know and I'll add them.**

**I won't bother doing Series 3, as the full series hasn't been seen yet and I can't find much trivia, but maybe in the future I will update again with Series 3 facts and trivia.**

**Until then, I hope you enjoyed reading all the pointless yet interesting facts and trivia I have uncovoured! **

**Luuurve from your dedicated author,**

**Maltese-Sapphire xxx**


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